South Italian Figurine: Fragmentary Head with Head-dress

Inv. No.: 95.068a
Provenance: South Italy (Metaponto)
Date: 6th century BC
Height: 138mm
Width: 130mm
 
The face of a goddess wearing an elaborate head-dress (partly damaged). She has late Archaic features: large almond-shaped eyes, a prominent pointed nose and a slight smile. Her hair is arranged in vertical ridges across her forehead, beneath the head-dress. This is a large, flaring polos adorned with three wheels or disc shapes. The fine clay is light orange in colour. Similar examples have been found in a sanctuary at Metaponto.

Function:
Used for votive or funerary purposes.

Manufacture:
A mould-made piece with some modelling by hand.

Bibliography:
Olbrich, G., Archaische Statuetten eines Metapontiner Heiligtums, Rome, "Lrmer" di Bretschneider, 1979.

Comparanda:
Carratelli, G. P. (ed.), The Western Greeks, exhibition catalogue, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, 1996, Catalogue no. 81 III-VII (female statuettes from Metaponto each with a similar flaring polos and wheel-shaped elements; second half of 6^th century BC).

Olbrich, G., Archaische Statuetten eines Metapontiner Heiligtums, Rome, "Lrmer" di Bretschneider, 1979, Plates 24, 30, 97 (C235), 101 (C249) (figures with similar head-dresses, from Metaponto).